He’s In!
I have convinced John that chickens are a good idea!
It pretty much came down to this: we have been thinking of getting a pet for DD1 - she desperately wants a dog, but we both work full time. Plus, she and her twin DD2 are super busy kids four nights a week, so a puppy would be sadly neglected. I’m also allergic to cats, so after giving it some thought and remembering that I have past experience raising baby pet birds, it seemed that chickens that will satisfy my gardening/sustainability instinct, her pet instinct, and big bonus - chickens live outside year round. Plus we get those beautiful eggs.
That works for me!
John’s thrifty Scots heritage did kick in and he quickly nixed the Eglu ($800 avec chickens), so I had to do some internet searching on chicken coop plans. One thing I quickly learned is that there are two schools of thought on coop design: people who scavange materials from virtually anything (a total no-go in my toney neighborhood) and people who aspire to the gentleman-farmer-high-end-solution (lovely but there are no prices quoted on that web site - what does that tell ‘ya?)
Here is the coop of my dreams:
Pretty yes? This design has all the feaures required for healthy birds, the plans are not expensive, we can build it ourselves, and it’s wicked adorable to boot. I actually love the goofy window box, and if you watch the ebay video (scroll down) you’ll see a hen sitting inside the window! I’m such a sucker…
Next challenge: where to buy day old chicks. The big mail order hatcheries sell every breed but they have minimum orders - 25 chicks(!) - and the Boston metropolitan area is not exactly teeming with Agway stores….stay tuned.
Anne said,
August 31, 2007 at 7:30 am
I used to have Gold Laced Wyandottes - lovely hens, big fat confident birds, too fat to fly - and they’d happily stare down our Rottweiler cross and three cats.
Great pets, and good layers.
Love the hen house!
cherylc said,
August 31, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Do you have raccoons in your neighborhood? That’s the chicken problem in my Seattle neighborhood. How to build a coop that can withstand them. I’ll figure it out someday!
phyllisc said,
September 1, 2007 at 4:45 am
Cherly, we sure do - I see racoons in our yard all the time. Last night I downloaded the playhouse coop plans, and there is a wire floor as well. So - no burrowing critters will be able to get inside.
Gigi said,
September 5, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Oh, I’m so excited that you’re getting your chickens! That chicken coop is too adorable for words - I love the window box.